Seward is also a fishing town on the Kenai Penninsula. With commercial fishing boats coming in and out. But it is also the closest town to the Kenai Fjords National PSeward is also a fishing town on the Kenai Penninsula. With commercial fishing boats coming in and out. But it is also the closest town to the Kenai Fjords National Park...drawing tourism which is pretty much the economic basis of the town now. We camped at Waterfront Campground, a city campground right on Ressurrection Bay from which we could see snow capped mountains and the boats coming in and out of the harbor. The weather was very agreeable, a little warmer although we were in our winter-parka-type jackets the whole time. The night we arrived neither of us were in the mood to cook so we went out to eat at the funniest (and yummiest) Italian/Greek restaurant. Justin got a Calzone with Gyro meat and Tzaziki sauce, a strange mix and delish. The restaurant was decorated in the cheesiest way possible, complete with Greek Columns and the like. We had a good laugh at the decor. But the food was unquestionably great. And expensive. But that's a tourist town in Alaska for you. Or maybe just Alaska for you in general. We decided to splurge on a "Kenai Fjords Marine Wildlife Tour", a four-hour boat tour including lunch. And holy cow it was SO worth it! We saw some of the neatest marine wildlife, we're still totally psyched about it. It was like the discovery channel or PBS! Haha. We saw a pod of Orca Wales, had porpoises playing with our boat, saw sea lions surrounded by flying and nesting waterbirds, mountain goats on the coast, bald eagles...but the orcas were by FAR the coolest. So exciting! While the Orcas came by the captain turned off the boat as they were heading our way and tour boats are prohibited from messing too much with the wildlife. With the engine off, and all the people on the tour looking out expectantly in silence we were able to hear the orcas blow out air each time they surfaced...off and on for about ten minutes while they passed...sort of magical cool. The food was good, suprisingly. The tour was just an awesome splurge. So worth it. We'd originally hoped to take a slightly longer tour which would show us some calving tidal glaciers...but the tail end of a storm out in the northern pacific was creating waves 10-11 feet high...so that tour was canceled. We were disappointed at first, but honestly the four hour trip showed us so much wildlife and marine beauty, and saved us a little money, we were so amazed. And, we crossed the end of the bay out in the northern pacific for just about ten minutes and the waves were out of control. People were getting seasick, you couldn't really walk without lurching everywhere...we realized were glad to not have been out at sea like that for another two hours. We also hit the Alaska Sea LIfe Center in Seward which is a primarily research-focused nonprofit that came about after and because of the Exxon-Valdez Oil spill. They have waterbirds and sea lions on hand in creative exhibit designs, in addition to fish and other sea life from the Resurrection Bay which is right outside the door. Literally, the center is right on the bay. They actually pump all the water in from the bay so that the animals they have in the Center follow the same seasonal temps as outside. With the creative tank designs we could see waterbirds diving for fish, from about two different stories, using their wings like little swimming arms to dart around in the water. And a sea lion playing with toys. Many of the animals are rehabilitation animals. A great center and cool follow up to our marine tour. One of the coolest coffee shops we've ever seen is in Seward. I've included a picture of it above. It's in an old church, that was first Methodist in the 40s and Lutheran in the fifties. The choir loft has now been converted to a library area, a place for poetry readings. And the entire interior is covered with local art and crafts. Very cool. The Methodist and Lutheran churches have both since built much larger chapels. So, now we've stopped in our favorite cafe in Anchorage (Snow City Cafe) for some brunch and Almond Joy coffee, and to try and catch up on this blog. An old man just parallel parked behind our car on the street, and bumped into our car with his (despite the five feet he had behind him to maneuver). We both know it's typical to bump between cars while parallel parking in big cities, which this isn't (a big city). He didn't really do any damage, I think as an older gentleman he honestly just couldn't see. Oh well, Justin just ran out to look for damage and as there doesn't seem to be any...on to Talkeetna we go!